Phenomenal amount raised for Epilepsy Research UK

A total of £99,285.48 was raised for ERUK by Club Triumph’s Round Britain Reliability Run, an epic event around Britain taking in John O’Groats to Land’s End.

When first contacted in 2017 by Tim Bancroft, Event Organiser of Club Triumph’s Round Britain Reliability Run, we had no idea how exceptional our partnership would turn out to be.

We were chosen as the beneficiary charity by the Club in memory of Martin Randle, a prominent Club Triumph member who sadly passed away in 2017 following an epileptic seizure, having been diagnosed ten years earlier.

From our earliest involvement, through the Drivers’ Meeting in September 2018, the marvellous atmosphere of the start event at Knebworth in October, to the finish line 48 hours later, we were hugely impressed and humbled by the enthusiasm, goodwill and sheer determination that all the teams have shown in supporting Epilepsy Research UK.

The Club Triumph Round Britain Reliability Run is an event which takes place every two years. It is an exhilarating, gruelling non-stop 48 hour drive round Britain, from Land’s End to John O’Groats undertaken in a classic Triumph motor car. Some teams have made the journey 20 times and Derek Pollock, one of the founder members of the event, is still involved at the age of 94.

Since 1990 it was decided to combine the event with raising money for charity. The members themselves nominate the beneficiary charity from a selection of charities proposed. Up until 2018 a total of £600,000 had been raised. But on Saturday 6th April we were invited to the cheque presentation event in Milton Keynes. We did not know exactly what to expect.

An audible intake of breath echoed through the room as the ‘presentation cheque’ was unveiled. It came to a staggering £94,675.48, which spectacularly surpassed the fundraising target – all a testimony to the high regard and affection in which Martin Randle was held. Unexpected subsequent donations increased this by a further £4610 which takes the grand total to just under £100,000 at £99,285.48.

So what does this magnificent sum mean for those with epilepsy? The funds that have been raised will help finance our 2019 grant awards, driving and enabling life changing and life saving research into epilepsy.

Our thanks go to all involved with the Round Britain Reliability Run and their many supporters for such exceptional generosity in their fundraising for our research.

Epilepsy Research UK supports and promotes basic and clinical scientific research into the causes, treatments and prevention of epilepsy; and is the only national charity in the UK that funds independent research exclusively into this condition.

Epilepsy Research UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities